Romney, criticized by Muslims, refuses to back down from comments

Muslim groups and civil libertarians demanded an apology from Gov. Mitt Romney on Friday for his comments about wiretapping mosques and monitoring foreign students, but the governor stood by his words, saying he was only advocating for improved homeland security.

The groups, which included the American Civil Liberties Union and various mosques and Islamic organizations, delivered a letter to Romney around noon which said "your desire to wiretap mosques is an affront to the values and principles that make America a great country."

After the letter was delivered, spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said the governor would not apologize or retract the comments.

Romney made the comments Wednesday during a speech in Washington at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank he consults on policy issues.

During the speech, Romney discussed homeland security and the need to devote resources to anti-terrorism intelligence. He referred to the state's 120 colleges and universities, and speculated about students who are from countries that sponsor terrorism, asking "Do we know where they are, are we tracking them?"

He also spoke about gathering intelligence at mosques "that may be teaching doctrines of hate and terror."

"Are we monitoring that? Are we wiretapping?" he asked. "Are we following what's going on? Are we seeing who's coming in, who's coming out? Are we eavesdropping, carrying out surveillance on those individuals from places that sponsor domestic terror?"

Romney said Friday morning he wasn't advocating for anything that wasn't already being done.

"I don't have any suggestions that are beyond the scope of what's done by the FBI today," he said after a speech at an unrelated event. "It's just the level of resources is something I think we should substantially enhance."

But some Muslims said that Romney is stereotyping all Muslims as terrorists and promoting dangerous policies that erode civil liberties.

Fehrnstrom, who retreated to the governor's office after facing angry questions from people who held the press conference, said Romney was "not advocating throwing the constitution out the window."

"What he's saying is that if there are mosques that preaching doctrines of hate and violence, they warrant more attention than the local 4H Club," he said. "And if there are students in our country, from Syria or Iraq, and they are engaging in suspicious behavior, then they warrant more attention than a student from Newton or Middleborough."

Al-Qaeda leaders captured

Baghdad - US forces have arrested the two leaders of the al-Qaeda terror group in the main northern Iraqi city of Mosul, a statement said on Saturday.

Separately, Iraqi sources said a leader of the al-Qaeda-linked group Ansar as-Sunna was seized overnight near the northern town of Tuz Khurmatu, the scene on Friday of a deadly attack on Shiite Muslim worshippers.

The US statement said coalition forces raided a suspected al-Qaeda hide-out in Mosul on September 5.

Captured were Taha Taha Ibrahim Yasin Becher, known as Abu Fatima, identified as al-Qaedas "emir of Mosul", and Hamed Saeed Ismael Mustafa, known as Abu Shahed, and identified as the organisations "west Mosul emir".

The statement said Abu Fatima had taken over his post after Abu Talha was captured in June and Abu Zubayr, who replaced him, was killed in mid-August.

It said Abu Shahed was responsible for organising al-Qaeda activities in west Mosul and was in line to succeed Abu Fatima in the event of his death or capture.

The military claimed that the seizure of the two men, both originally from the town of Tal Afar to the west, was evidence of the pressure al-Qaeda was under as the group traditionally filled the Mosul posts with locals.

Meanwhile, Iraqi and US forces captured Norman Mohammed, "one of the most important Ansar as-Sunna leaders in northern Iraq", Colonel Mohammed Fatah said.

He was nabbed in the village of Duzari, near Tuz Khurmatu, where a suicide bomber killed 11 Shiite worshippers and wounded 24 as they left an Iraqi mosque after Friday prayers.

Fatah said 700kg of explosives and mortar rounds were found at the site of the arrest.

Katrina, What Went Right

With body recovery teams in New Orleans finding far fewer than the expected 10,000 to 25,000 dead, despite the flooding of 80 percent of the city, it is time to ask: What went right?

Largely invisible to the media's radar, a broad-based rescue effort by federal, state and local first responders pulled 25,000 to 50,000 people from harm's way in floodwaters in the city. Ironically, FEMA's role, for good or ill, was essentially non-existent, as was the Governor's and the Mayor's. An ad-hoc distributed network responded on its own. Big Government didn't work. Odds and ends of little government did.

The critical period was the immediate aftermath of the levy breaks on Monday, August 29 until the flooding crested on Sept. 2. If people were going to be trapped in attics, drowned in their cars, or washed off roofs, this is when it would have happened. Once the flooding crested, while thousands still needed to be removed from their homes, fed, and relocated, at least the immediate threat of drowning was over.

During the critical period beginning Monday, rescue helicopters were already reeling in at least 2000 people a day. These independent units comprised dozens of Coast Guard, Air Force, Air National Guard and Army choppers. Various boat-rescue operations by New Orleans first responders saved thousands more-even as the media's attention was focused on the Superdome, snipers and scenes of looting. The response to the real threat of Katrina, other words, was immediate and massive -it just wasn't the response the media wanted, expected or was spoon-fed at a press conference.

The precise records of who saved how many, when, are incomplete. However, the bottom line here is the count of the dead. That it is far lower than projections indicates that many of the people who faced imminent doom were rescued as waters rose. By Friday of the first week of operations, chopper crews had literally run out of victims to save and had mostly switched to transporting supplies, dropping sandbags, and rearranging people who were already safe.

The Connecticut Post, of all places, gives the best overview of the operation in a column by Peter Urban. He points out that a single chopper of the Louisiana National Guard, on Monday after the storm hit, pulled some 250 people to safety; there were 16 other 30- passenger Black Hawks in the unit that had been stripped of seating to fly similar rescue missions. If the other choppers only saved half as many people, that one unit alone pulled out 2000 people a day.

But the Louisiana Blackhawks weren't the only rescuers. The Coast Guard was flying as soon as the hurricane passed on Monday as well and had already accounted for several thousand victims by Wednesday.

The Air Force reported 1,300 rescues and some 14,000 "transported" by Sept. 4.

By Tuesday night, the Navy's USS Bataan amphibious assault ship -cited for its inaction by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman--in fact had five choppers flying rescue missions and had pulled out several hundred people.

But those weren't the only helicopters flying. Overall, 113 choppers were in operation around New Orleans by Sept. 1, according to The Armed Forces Press Service.

Urban also notes one explanation why the rescue operation flew below the radar of the media: Individual federal and state units were not coordinating their efforts overall. There was no central clearing house for information on rescue efforts. What looked like a hurricane relief breakdown was in fact a press release breakdown.

Local rescue efforts by boat were surprisingly robust, contrary to conventional wisdom. The much maligned New Orleans police and fire departments, which began operations Monday afternoon, were able to field 100 to 200 boats in the first 24 hours after the breach, according to local officials quoted in the Times Picayune. However, with the City's communications system broken down, the 500 to 1000 rescue workers had to organize themselves and so were operating without central command and control, thus also below the media radar. How many these police and firefighters saved is unknown, but with so many boats in the water so quickly, the number would have easily been in the thousands.

Meanwhile the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, claimed 20,000 rescues by Sept. 8 at which point it suspended calls for more volunteers and boats. While it is unclear how many of these rescues took place in the critical time frame, the only mention of this staggering achievement came in the Sept. 8 press release. How many national reporters thought to call the Wildlife department, or even thought it was a go-to agency?

This list is by no means exhaustive. State police and deputies from various Sheriff's departments were operating rescue boats, as was the Coast Guard. Individual National Guard units responded on their own initially, as did civilian rescue teams from out of state. Dates and numbers saved simply haven't been added up, or served to a skeptical media.

Besides the large number of rescuers, there was another key reason for the success of rescue efforts. The nature of the flooding differed from the scenarios that would have resulted in 10 to 25 thousand dead. Worst case models projected a storm surge that overtopped the levies by 10 feet, destroying them and creating an instant flood at or near the time a Cat 5 hurricane leveled 80 percent of the structures in the city and environs.

That only happened in parts of the city, eastern New Orleans. It is clear from video footage that even there much of the housing survived, at least insofar as it provided a few days of refuge from flood waters. The flooding elsewhere was extensive, but not always rapid--in many areas the rise was six inches to a foot per hour, easily evaded by a moderately fit adult or child.

Flooding didn't crest until Sept. 2, giving rescuers a five-day window in which to prioritize operations for the most desperate. Even then, few homes were overtopped and submerged.

Louisiana Officials Indicted Before Katrina Hit

Federal audits found dubious expenditures by the state's emergency preparedness agency, which will administer FEMA hurricane aid.

Senior officials in Louisiana's emergency planning agency already were awaiting trial over allegations stemming from a federal investigation into waste, mismanagement and missing funds when Hurricane Katrina struck.

And federal auditors are still trying to track as much as $60 million in unaccounted for funds that were funneled to the state from the Federal Emergency Management Agency dating back to 1998.

In March, FEMA demanded that Louisiana repay $30.4 million to the federal government.

The problems are particularly worrisome, federal officials said, because they involve the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the agency that will administer much of the billions in federal aid anticipated for victims of Katrina.

Earlier this week, federal Homeland Security officials announced they would send 30 investigators and auditors to the Gulf Coast to ensure relief funds were properly spent.

Details of the ongoing criminal investigations come from two reports by the inspector general's office in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, as well as in state audits, and interviews this week with federal and state officials.

The reports were prepared by the federal agency's field office in Denton, Texas, and cover 1998 to 2003. Improper expenditures previously identified by auditors include a parka, a briefcase and a trip to Germany.

Much of the FEMA money that was unaccounted for was sent to Louisiana under the Hazard Mitigation Grant program, intended to help states retrofit property and improve flood control facilities, for example.

Dem Brazile: I Will Rebuild With You, Mr. President...

By Donna Brazile

New Orleans is my hometown. It is the place where I grew up, where my family still lives. For me, it is a place of comfort and memories. It is home.

Now my home needs your help, and the help of every American. Much of my city is still underwater. Its historical buildings have been wrecked, its famous streets turned to rivers and, worst of all, so many of its wonderful people -- including members of my own family and my neighbors -- have lost everything.

On Thursday night President Bush spoke to the nation from my city. I am not a Republican. I did not vote for George W. Bush -- in fact, I worked pretty hard against him in 2000 and 2004. But on Thursday night, after watching him speak from the heart, I could not have been prouder of the president and the plan he outlined to empower those who lost everything and to rebuild the Gulf Coast.

Bush called on every American to stand up and support the rebuilding of the region. He told us that New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast would rise from the ruins stronger than before. He enunciated something that we all need to remember: This is America. We are not immune to tragedy here, but we are strong because of our industriousness, our ingenuity and, most important, because of our compassion for one another. We are a nation of rebuilders and a nation of givers. We do not give up in the face of tragedy, we stand up, and we reach out to help those who cannot stand up on their own.

The president called on every American to reach out to my neighbors in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast. The great people of this country have already opened their hearts in the immediate aftermath of the storm, and their tremendous generosity has done more than just provide extra comfort -- it has saved lives. Now the crisis of survival is over. But the task of rebuilding remains, and the president made it clear that every single one of us has a role to play.

Each of us belongs to some group -- a church, a union or a fraternal organization, or even a book club -- that can make a difference. It is those groups that can pool resources and then reach out to their counterparts in the stricken states and ask, "What can we do?" Schools, Girl Scout troops, Rotary clubs -- this is the time for every community group to step forward to lend a helping hand. We need it.

The president also laid out the federal government's goal for rebuilding. It is unprecedented in its scope and ambition, matching destruction that is unprecedented as well. He made the challenge clear: This will be one of the biggest reconstruction projects in history. But he also made it clear that we can and will do this. New Orleans, Biloxi, all of the Gulf Coast will rise again. And the residents are ready to pitch in and do their part.

I know, maybe better than anyone, that there are times when it seems that our nation is too divided ever to heal. There are times when we feel so different from each other that we can hardly believe that we are all part of the same family. But we are one nation. We are a family. And this is what we do. When the president asked us to pitch in Thursday night, he wasn't really asking us to do anything spectacular. He was asking us to be Americans, and to do what Americans always do.

The president has set a national goal and defined a national purpose. This is something I believe with all my heart: When we are united, nothing can stop us. We will not waver, we will not tire, and we will not stop until the streets are clean, every last brick has been replaced and every last family has its home back.

Bush talked about how we bury our family and friends. We grieve and mourn. We march to a solemn song and then we rejoice and step out and form the second line. That line is now open to every American to join us in rebuilding a great region of this country. New Orleans will rise again. My hometown is down but not out, and with the help of every American, it will be back on its feet, bigger and brighter than ever.

Mr. President, I am ready for duty. I am ready to stir those old pots again. Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Tony Blair Pulls the Plug on Kyoto at Clinton Summit

Kyoto Treaty RIP. That's not the headline in any newspaper this morning emerging from the first day of the Clinton Global Initiative, but it could have been -- and should have been.

Onstage with former president Bill Clinton at a midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was going to speak with "brutal honesty" about Kyoto and global warming, and he did. And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had some blunt talk, too.

Blair, a longtime supporter of the Kyoto treaty, further prefaced his remarks by noting, "My thinking has changed in the past three or four years." So what does he think now? "No country, he declared, "is going to cut its growth." That is, no country is going to allow the Kyoto treaty, or any other such global-warming treaty, to crimp -- some say cripple -- its economy.

Looking ahead to future climate-change negotiations, Blair said of such fast-growing countries as India and China, "They're not going to start negotiating another treaty like Kyoto." India and China, of course, weren't covered by Kyoto in the first place, which was one of the fatal flaws in the treaty. But now Blair is acknowledging the obvious: that after the current Kyoto treaty -- which the US never acceded to -- expires in 2012, there's not going to be another worldwide deal like it.

So what will happen instead? Blair answered: "What countries will do is work together to develop the science and technology�.There is no way that we are going to tackle this problem unless we develop the science and technology to do it." Bingo! That's what eco-realists have been saying all along, of course -- that the only feasible way to deal with the issue of greenhouse gases and global warming is through technological breakthroughs, not draconian cutbacks.

Student Arrested After Pilot Uniform Found

A university student from Egypt was ordered held without bond after prosecutors said they found a pilot's uniform, chart of Memphis International Airport and a DVD titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act" in his apartment.

The FBI is investigating whether Mahmoud Maawad, 29, had any connection to terrorists. He is awaiting trial on charges of wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number.

Maawad, who is in the United States illegally, told the judge during a hearing Thursday that he is studying science and economics at the University of Memphis.

"My school is everything. I stay in this country for seven years; I stay for the school," he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker said Thursday that the airport-related items were found during a Sept. 9 search.

"The specific facts and circumstances are scary," Parker said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Thomas Anderson ruled that Maawad be held without bond.

"It is hard for the court to understand why he has a large concentration of those (aviation) items, and nothing else to indicate Mr. Maawad plans to stay in the community," Anderson said.

Maawad had ordered $3,000 in aviation materials, including DVDs titled "Ups and Downs of Takeoffs and Landings," "Airplane Talk," "Mental Math for Pilots" and "Mastering GPS Flying," FBI agent Thad Gulczynski testified.

The company reported Maawad to authorities when he didn't pay for $2,500 of merchandise it had delivered, Gulczynski said.

Anti-War Mom Cindy Sheehan Signs with Speaking Matters LLC for Public Speaking Tour

Talk about a BARF alert.....

Cindy Sheehan may have ended her summer vigil at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, but she is taking her anti-war activism to colleges/universities by participating in public speaking and public programs across the nation.


New York, NY (PRWEB via PR Web Direct) September 14, 2005 -- There are moments in history when the courageous actions of one individual act to galvanize a movement � whether for civil rights, women's rights, pro-democracy, or against a war.

The summer of 2005 will forever be remembered with one mother's vigil for her lost son at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Cindy Sheehan has re-energized the nation's anti-war movement with her unflagging desire to meet with the president to ask: �What is the noble cause for which my son died in Iraq?�

Cindy Sheehan has become a national symbol of the powerless confronting the powerful, of a mother mourning the loss of her child and seeking answers from the nation's commander-in-chief, the man who made the case for the war in which her son lost his life.

Sheehan's activism has not ended with the president returning to Washington after his vacation. She is now involved in public speaking to groups around the country: one mother with one voice and one mission � to find a way to bring our troops home and spare other parents the grief of losing a child in an unjust war.



....and it appears that it is also about making money now too !
J.R.

CINDY SHEEHAN CALLS FOR U.S TO 'PULL OUR TROOPS OUT OF OCCUPIED NEW ORLEANS'

Celebrity anti-war protester, fresh off inking a lucrative deal with Speaker's Bureau, has demanded at the HUFFINGTON POST and MICHAEL MOORE'S website that the United States military must immediately leave 'occupied' New Orleans.

"I don't care if a human being is black, brown, white, yellow or pink. I don't care if a human being is Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or pagan. I don't care what flag a person salutes: if a human being is hungry, then it is up to another human being to feed him/her. George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq, and excuse his self from power. The only way America will become more secure is if we have a new administration that cares about Americans even if they don't fall into the top two percent of the wealthiest."

Sheehan is in the middle of a bus trip across America in support of her cause.

James Taranto of the opinion Journal had this to say about that...

Mrs. Sheehan, originally a sympathetic figure, is now merely a pathetic one, and we're inclined to ignore her totally, except that we keep remembering all those Angry Left types who, a few short weeks ago, were declaring that she had "absolute moral authority" and was going to transform American politics. If thinking about that doesn't give you a good, deep, soul-cleansing laugh, nothing will.


What a complete idiot this woman is !
J.R.

Evacuees surprise ABC with Bush praise

Reporter apparently sought critical remarks after speech

An ABC News reporter who apparently expected hurricane evacuees to criticize the president after his speech last night, instead heard words of praise for Bush and blame for local officials.

Dean Reynolds, in the parking lot of Houston's Astrodome, spoke with black evacuees from New Orleans, but "not one of the six people interviewed on camera had a bad word for Bush � despite Reynolds' best efforts," said the Media Research Center in a report on the segment.

"You talk about a major big media backfire, folks, this is it," commented radio talk host Rush Limbaugh during his show today.

Political Teen has the video

Reynolds asked Connie London: "Did you harbor any anger toward the president because of the slow federal response?"

"No, none whatsoever," she said, "because I feel like our city and our state government should have been there before the federal government was called in."

London pointed out: "They had RTA buses, Greyhound buses, school buses, that was just sitting there going under water when they could have been evacuating people."

Reynolds asked Brenda Marshall: "Was there anything that you found hard to believe that he said, that you thought, well, that's nice rhetoric, but, you know, the proof is in the pudding?"

She replied, "No, I didn't," prompting Reynolds to marvel to anchor Ted Koppel: "Very little skepticism here."

Reynolds pressed another woman: "Did you feel that the president was sincere tonight?"

She affirmed: "Yes, he was."

Reynolds asked who they held culpable for the levee breaks � a problem national media have blamed on Bush-mandated budget cuts:

One evacuee said, "They've been allocated federal funds to fix the levee system, and it never got done. I fault the mayor of our city personally. I really do."

Reynolds: "All right. Well, thank you all very much. I wish you all the best of luck. I hope you don't have to spend too much more time here in the Reliant Center and you can get back to New Orleans as the President said. Ted, that is the word from the Houston Astrodome. And as I said, when the President said that the Crescent City will rise again, there were nods all around this parking lot."

Bus tour to rally support for troops

Move America Forward sponsors multi-city patriotic rallies

A multi-city bus tour meant to show support for U.S. troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan kicks off Monday in San Francisco.

Sponsored by Move America Forward, the tour will stop in more than 20 cities across the nation where the organization will host pro-troop rallies.

The tour, which organizers hope will rebut much of the recent anti-war rhetoric from "peace mom" Cindy Sheehan and others, will culminate in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25 with a large rally help in conjunction with several other groups, including Free Republic, Right March and Protest Warrior, a statement from Move America Forward said.

"To those misguided individuals who are trying to undermine the mission our troops are serving in, let us make our message loud and clear: We will travel to any place at any time to rally together the American public to oppose your defeatist, anti-military agenda," said Melanie Morgan, chair of Move America Forward.

"We will not sit back and let the 'Blame America First' crowd try to turn this generation into a hybrid of the Vietnam protest era. Never again will our nation turn its back on our troops or their mission."

The "Support The Troops And Their Mission" bus tour is currently planning rallies in over 20 U.S. cities, including: San Francisco, Calif., Vacaville, Calif., Sacramento, Calif., Reno, Nev., Elko, Nev., Salt Lake City, Utah, Cheyenne, Wyo., Fort Collins, Colo., Denver, Colo., Lincoln, Neb., Omaha, Neb., Des Moines, Iowa, Rockford, Ill., Chicago, Ill., Indianapolis, Ind., Cincinnati, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Wheeling, W.V., Pittsburgh, Pa., Shanksville, Pa. (site of Flight 93 crash on September 11), Baltimore, Md., and Washington, D.C.

Storm-relief money spent at strip clubs

Houston police finds misuse of FEMA's $2,000 debit cards

On the heels of a report earlier this week that Atlanta area Katrina victims were using $2,000 debit cards to purchase luxury items like Louis Vuitton handbags, Houston police yesterday discovered the cards, provided by FEMA and the Red Cross, being used at local strip clubs.

The Houston Police Department just formed a task force to investigate the abuse of the cards, which were distributed to thousands of Katrina hurricane victims to provide for necessities, such as food, clothing and toiletries. On the first day, the police found the cards being used to buy beer while ogling exotic dancers.

According to a report by KPRC, Channel 2, in Houston, a manager at Caligula XXI Gentlemen's Club said he has seen at least one debit card used at his club. A bartender at Baby Dolls, identified only as "Abby," said she has seen many of the cards used at her establishment.

"A lot of customers have been coming in from Louisiana and they've been real happy about the $1.75 beers and they're really nice," she said.

She couldn't say for sure whether the cards she has seen were from the Red Cross or from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but she found no fault in using federal dollars to guzzle beer at a strip club.

The wife of the manager of another strip club told KPRC that her husband has seen patrons from Louisiana offering Red Cross and FEMA debit cards, but she declined to reveal the club's name.

Earlier this week, the New York Daily News reported that "profiteering ghouls" were using the debit cards in luxury-goods stores as far away as Atlanta.

"We've seen three of the cards," said a senior employee of the Louis Vuitton store at the Lenox Square Mall in affluent Buckhead. "Two I'm certain have purchased; one actually asked if she could use it in the store. This has been since Saturday."

The clerk at the Louis Vuitton store said: "There's nothing legally that prevents us from taking it, unfortunately � other than morally, it's wrong." The unnamed employee told the Daily News two women who had made purchases with the card each bought a signature monogrammed Louis Vuitton handbag in the $800 range.

Meanwhile, in Memphis, Tenn., residents told News Channel 3 they saw Hurricane Katrina survivors purchase designer jeans, high heels and purses with their $2,000 emergency debit cards. According to the report, one Katrina victim was spotted at a Cordova clothier buying stacks of $65 designer jeans. Another viewer reported spotting a survivor buying "over $700 in high heel shoes and purses" at a Memphis department store "while (her) younger children, most of them looked under the age of 3, looked like they haven't showered in weeks."

"If they make an inappropriate decision as to what to purchase, the whole issue of victims' rights comes into play," said Bill Hildebrandt, chief executive officer of the Mid-South chapter of the Red Cross. "They have a right, I guess, to be inappropriate."

Hildebrandt conceded that the purchases could be traced, but he said if the receipts just said "shirt" or "jeans" or "clothes," there would be nothing the Red Cross could do. He said the Mid-South chapter stopped using the cards because the process became too cumbersome.

Reaction to Bush's New Orleans Address

Some congressional reaction to President Bush's national address on the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

"The president picked a very inspiring spot to make this speech. The image is worth many words in terms of what Jackson Square and the cathedral mean to New Orleans and what New Orleans means to the nation. ... His three proposals are innovative and bold." � Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

"I welcome the boldness of his vision. ... Clearly the tough work remains to be done, and everybody, including Congress, needs to roll up their sleeves and get that work done." � Sen. David Vitter, R-La.

"The president tonight spoke eloquently of both the suffering this hurricane has caused and about the hope that continues to rise in the Gulf Coast region, even as the floodwaters recede." � House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

"The Gulf Coast region does not deserve to be treated as a laboratory for political opportunism or ideological experimentation. Now is the time for unity." � Joint statement by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"He has expressed his disappointment with the initial response. We, in the Congress, echo that sentiment. However, in the days following the storm, this country has demonstrated the true spirit of what makes America great, neighbors coming together and helping one another." � House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

"Leadership isn't a speech or a toll-free number. Leadership is getting the job done. No American doubts that New Orleans will rise again. They doubt the competence and commitment of this administration." � Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

Weldon: Atta Papers Destroyed on Orders

A Pentagon employee was ordered to destroy documents that identified Mohamed Atta as a terrorist two years before the 2001 attacks, a congressman said Thursday.

The employee is prepared to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was expected to identify the person who ordered him to destroy the large volume of documents, said Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa.

Weldon declined to identify the employee, citing confidentiality matters. Weldon described the documents as "2.5 terabytes" _ as much as one-fourth of all the printed materials in the Library of Congress, he added.

A Senate Judiciary Committee aide said the witnesses for Wednesday hearing had not been finalized and could not confirm Weldon's comments.

Army Maj. Paul Swiergosz, a Pentagon spokesman, said officials have been "fact-finding in earnest for quite some time."

"We've interviewed 80 people involved with Able Danger, combed through hundreds of thousands of documents and millions of e-mails and have still found no documentation of Mohamed Atta," Swiergosz said.

He added that certain data had to be destroyed in accordance with existing regulations regarding "intelligence data on U.S. persons."

Americans Support Roberts' Confirmation

Half of Americans have a favorable opinion of nominee

The United States Senate Judiciary Committee continues confirmation hearings today regarding the nomination of U.S. Circuit Judge John Roberts Jr. to serve as the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds that nearly 6 in 10 Americans say they would like the Senate to confirm Roberts to the high court. Support for Roberts' confirmation is higher now than it was in August, and is at the same level Gallup recorded when President George W. Bush first nominated Roberts in late July. Half of Americans say they have a favorable view of Roberts, while only about one in six view him unfavorably and one-third have no opinion. Blacks and Democrats are much less likely than whites and Republicans to support Roberts' confirmation and to view him favorably.

The poll, conducted Sept. 8-11, finds that 58% of Americans support the Senate confirming Roberts to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Twenty-seven percent oppose his confirmation and 15% have no opinion.

Gallup has asked this question four times since President Bush nominated Roberts in late July, initially to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. At that time, 59% of Americans said the Senate should confirm Roberts. Then, in August, support for Roberts' confirmation decreased slightly, but still a slim majority of Americans (51% in early August and 52% in late August) supported his confirmation. Gallup polling conducted after Bush nominated Roberts to serve as chief justice upon the recent death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist -- but before the Senate confirmation hearings began this week -- finds support for his confirmation at 58%.

Poll: 8 in 10 Want Drivers to Drop SUVs

Eight in 10 people say it's important for Americans now driving sport utility vehicles to switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles to reduce the nation's dependence on oil, a poll found.

With gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon nationally and the price of natural gas rising sharply, six in 10 said they are not confident President Bush is taking the right approach to solving the nation's energy problems, according to the survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Given several choices for dealing with energy problems, the public has some clear preferences:

_Almost seven in 10 want the government to establish price controls on gasoline and want more spending on subway, rail and bus systems.

_Just over seven in 10 want to give tax cuts to companies to develop wind, solar and hydrogen energy.

_Just over eight in 10 want higher fuel efficiency required for cars, trucks and SUVs.

_Slightly more than half, 52 percent, favor giving tax cuts to energy companies to explore for more oil.

The rising anxiety over high gas prices has caused a shift in public priorities about the importance of exploring for new energy.

Almost six in 10 now say exploring for new sources of energy is more important than protecting the environment. People were evenly split on that question in 2002. Half now support drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska _ up from 42 percent who felt that way in March.

Only four in 10 wanted to promote the increased use of nuclear power, while slightly more than half opposed that step.

The Pew poll of 1,523 adults was taken Sept. 8-11 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Parish prez fabricates claim about feds leaving coworker's mom to die

The president of a Louisiana parish tearfully told a national TV audience the heartbreaking story of a coworker whose mother was left to die in a flooded nursing home days after Hurricane Katrina immobilized New Orleans � but, as it turns out, the story isn't true.

The blog WuzzaDem.com uncovered the truth-stretching rhetoric of Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard's account he shared on "Meet the Press" Sept. 4 as he emotionally complained about lack of federal response to Katrina victims.


Here is Broussard's story broadcast on the NBC news show:


The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in a St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.
The Friday night Broussard is talking about was Sept. 2, but it turns out the woman actually died Aug. 29, the previous Monday, when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

MSNBC reported the man Broussard was talking about is Thomas Rodrigue, who told "Dateline" that his 92-year-old mother was one of 32 elderly people found dead at the St. Rita's nursing home. The New York Times reported the 32 residents, out of 60 total, died Aug. 29.

Reported WuzzaDem.com: "Broussard claims Rodrigue was talking to his mother for four days after she died, promising here some nebulous 'cavalry' was on the way. His story doesn't jibe with the reporting of CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, or even Thomas Rodrigue's own account.

The site claims Broussard, a Democrat, was "trying to score political points" by blaming federal officials when Louisiana's emergency plan explicitly designates local officials as those responsible for pre-disaster evacuation and for responding directly after an event.

The website Lies.com also reported on Broussard's fabrication, saying, "Assuming the MSNBC story is accurate, Broussard�s story was at least significantly embellished. ... Broussard, for all the apparent sincerity in his emotional on-air breakdown, was willing to lie in order to make his story work better as political theater."

Kathleen Blanco: I Should Have Called the Military

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco's abrupt decision Wednesday night to take responsibility for her state's inadequate response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster followed an inadvertent confession that was caught on camera where Blanco admitted she blew it.

"I really should have called for the military," Blanco said, while chatting with her press secretary in between TV interviews. "I really should have started that in the first call."

Unbeknownst to Blanco, her bombshell acknowledgment was recorded on a network satellite feed, and by Tuesday the clip was getting wide exposure in Louisiana news broadcasts.

In the early days of the Katrina crisis, disaster management experts repeatedly blamed the failure to send in the National Guard for the city's descent into chaos.

Most observers blamed the White House for the blunder - a misconception that was thoroughly dispelled by the governor's inadvertent confession.

Some say Blanco's blooper was responsible for the abrupt change of tone in her speech Wednesday night to the Louisiana legislature.

Where earlier she and her aides had openly blamed the Bush administration for bungling Katrina rescue efforts, Blanco announced: "The buck stops here, and as your governor, I take full responsibility."

Just as surprising were Blanco's words of praise for the White House: "I want the people of Louisiana to know that we have a friend and a partner in President George W. Bush. I thank you, Mr. President."

OPERATIONS IN TALL AFAR NET 78 TERROR SUSPECTS

MOSUL, Iraq � Task Force Freedom detained 78 suspected terrorists during operations in Tall Afar Sept. 12 as Operation Restoring Rights continued.

Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment detained 57 individuals suspected of terrorist activity during two operations.

Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment detained 15 terror suspects during a cordon and search operation.

Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment detained four suspected terrorists.

Soldiers from 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment also detained two individuals suspected of terrorist activity while patrolling.

Suspects are in custody with no MNF injuries reported.

MOSUL TERRORISTS CAPTURED

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Acting on intelligence sources and tips from concerned citizens, Multi-National Forces recently raided suspected terrorist safe houses in the Mosul area, resulting in the capture of three Al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist leaders.

Abdallah Najim Muhammad Husayn (aka Abu Nijim or Abu Muhammad) was captured Aug 26. Muhammad was a terrorist battalion commander for Al-Qaida in Iraq in Mosul. He planned, coordinated and financed terrorist attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces in the Mosul area. The methods of these attacks and ambushes included the use of vehicle borne improvised explosive devices, improvised explosive devices and mortars.

Also captured Aug. 26 was Bassam Muhammad Ahmad Sultan (aka Abu Shayma, Shayma), who was a cell leader under Abu Muhammad. As a cell leader, Abu Shayma led his cell in executing terror attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces.

On Sept. 3, Iraqi Police assisted Coalition Forces in capturing Nawfal Muwafaq Ahmad �Abdullah (aka Abu Abd al Karim). Abu Abd al Karim was the driver for Abu Zayd, the Al-Qaida in Iraq Military Emir of Mosul. He was responsible for driving Abu Zayd as well as other terrorists to various meetings between the Mosul terrorist leadership. Abu Abd al Karim participated in more than 30 attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition forces. He was elevated to cell leader under Abu Zayd, who was recently killed by Coalition Forces.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT MULTI-NATIONAL CORPS-IRAQ, BY E-MAIL AT MNCI-PAO-VICTORYMAINJOC@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL.

Ex-FEMA Chief Tells of Frustration and Chaos

Hours after Hurricane Katrina passed New Orleans on Aug. 29, as the scale of the catastrophe became clear, Michael D. Brown recalls, he placed frantic calls to his boss, Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security, and to the office of the White House chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr.

Mr. Brown, then director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he told the officials in Washington that the Louisiana governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, and her staff were proving incapable of organizing a coherent state effort and that his field officers in the city were reporting an "out of control" situation.

"I am having a horrible time," Mr. Brown said he told Mr. Chertoff and a White House official - either Mr. Card or his deputy, Joe Hagin - in a status report that evening. "I can't get a unified command established."

By the time of that call, he added, "I was beginning to realize things were going to hell in a handbasket" in Louisiana. A day later, Mr. Brown said, he asked the White House to take over the response effort.

He said he felt the subsequent appointment of Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honor� of the Army as the Pentagon's commander of active-duty forces began to turn the situation around.

In his first extensive interview since resigning as FEMA director on Monday under intense criticism, Mr. Brown declined to blame President Bush or the White House for his removal or for the flawed response.

"I truly believed the White House was not at fault here," he said.

He focused much of his criticism on Governor Blanco, contrasting what he described as her confused response with far more agile mobilizations in Mississippi and Alabama, as well as in Florida during last year's hurricanes.

Mr. Brown said he had been hobbled by limitations on the power of the agency to command needed resources. With only 2,600 employees nationwide, he said, FEMA must rely on state workers, the National Guard, private contractors and other federal agencies to supply manpower and equipment.

He said his biggest mistake was in waiting until the end of the day on Aug. 30 to ask the White House explicitly to take over the response from FEMA and state officials.

Of his resignation, Mr. Brown said: "I said I was leaving because I don't want to be a distraction. I want to focus on what happened here and the issues that this raises."

In Washington, Mr. Chertoff's spokesman, Russ Knocke, said there had been no delay in the federal response. "We pushed absolutely everything we could," Mr. Knocke said, "every employee, every asset, every effort, to save and sustain lives."

As Mr. Brown recounted it, the weekend before New Orleans's levees burst, FEMA sent an emergency response team of 10 or 20 people to Louisiana to review evacuation plans with local officials.

By Saturday afternoon, many residents were leaving. But as the hurricane approached early on Sunday, Mr. Brown said he grew so frustrated with the failure of local authorities to make the evacuation mandatory that he asked Mr. Bush for help.

"Would you please call the mayor and tell him to ask people to evacuate?" Mr. Brown said he asked Mr. Bush in a phone call.

"Mike, you want me to call the mayor?" the president responded in surprise, Mr. Brown said. Moments later, apparently on his own, the mayor, C. Ray Nagin, held a news conference to announce a mandatory evacuation, but it was too late, Mr. Brown said. Plans said it would take at least 72 hours to get everyone out.

When he arrived in Baton Rouge on Sunday evening, Mr. Brown said, he was immediately concerned about the lack of coordinated response from Governor Blanco and Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau, the adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard.

"What do you need? Help me help you," Mr. Brown said he asked them. "The response was like, 'Let us find out,' and then I never received specific requests for specific things that needed doing."

On Monday night, Mr. Brown said, he reported his growing worries to Mr. Chertoff and the White House. He said he did not ask for federal active-duty troops to be deployed because he assumed his superiors in Washington were doing all they could. Instead, he said, he repeated a dozen times, "I cannot get a unified command established."

The next morning, Mr. Brown said, he and Governor Blanco decided to take a helicopter into New Orleans to see the mayor and assess the situation. But before the helicopter took off, his field coordinating officer, or F.C.O., called from the city on a satellite phone. "It is getting out of control down here; the levee has broken," the staff member told him, he said.

"It is beginning to flood downtown," the field coordinator said. "We have got enough food for 24 hours, but the water is really beginning to rise."

When they boarded the helicopter, Mr. Brown said, he was surprised to find both of Louisiana's senators and several other people along for the ride. The crowd in the Superdome, the city's shelter of last resort, was already larger than expected. But he said he was relieved to see that the mayor had a detailed list of priorities, starting with help to evacuate the Superdome.

Mr. Brown passed the list on to the state emergency operations center in Baton Rouge, but when he returned that evening he was surprised to find that nothing had been done.

"I am just screaming at my F.C.O., 'Where are the helicopters?' " he recalled. " 'Where is the National Guard? Where is all the stuff that the mayor wanted?' "

FEMA, he said, had no helicopters and only a few communications trucks. The agency typically depends on state resources, a system he said worked well in the other Gulf Coast states and in Florida last year.

Meanwhile, "unbeknownst to me," Mr. Brown said, at some point on Monday or Tuesday the hotels started directing their remaining guests to the convention center - something neither FEMA nor local officials had planned.

At the same time, the Superdome was degenerating into "gunfire and anarchy," and on Tuesday the FEMA staff and medical team in New Orleans called to say they were leaving for their own safety. "They were in tears," he said. "They were brokenhearted. It was gut-wrenching."

That night, Mr. Brown said, he called Mr. Chertoff and the White House again in desperation. "Guys, this is bigger than what we can handle," he told them, he said. "This is bigger than what FEMA can do. I am asking for help."

"Maybe I should have screamed 12 hours earlier," Mr. Brown said in the interview. "But that is hindsight. We were still trying to make things work."

By Wednesday morning, Mr. Brown said, he learned that General Honor� was on his way. While the general did not have responsibility for the entire relief effort and the Guard, his commanding manner helped mobilize the state's efforts.

"Honor� shows up and he and I have a phone conversation," Mr. Brown said. "He gets the message, and, boom, it starts happening. With Honor�, I have got exactly what I need."

Mr. Brown said that in one much-publicized gaffe - his repeated statement on live television on Thursday night, Sept. 1, that he had just learned that day of thousands of people at New Orleans's convention center without food or water - "I just absolutely misspoke." In fact, he said, he learned about the evacuees there from the first media reports more than 24 hours earlier, but the reports conflicted with information from local authorities and he had no staff on the site until Thursday.

Mr. Brown acknowledged that he had been criticized for not ordering a complete evacuation or calling in federal troops sooner. But he said the storm made it hard to communicate and assess the situation.

"Until you have been there," he said, "you don't realize it is the middle of a hurricane."

Feds not first in line for blame

Out of the trauma of Hurricane Katrina, we have a great object lesson in American civics. This disaster has highlighted what it is that makes us American, and how departing from these basics is a recipe for tragedy.

Over and over in the news and rehashing, we hear people decrying that the federal government simply didn't do enough to prevent this, didn't do enough to remedy that and simply doesn't care enough about the victims' predicament.

What seems to be absent from the reports is the lack of prevention, preparation and protection that is incumbent upon local governments to provide.

The federal government's role is to be a means to spread the risk in times of disaster but the first and foremost line of defense against tragedy falls to state and local governments. Our Founding Fathers started from the proposition that the states were sovereign. It makes sense that the local governments are in the best position to determine, assess and mitigate the peculiar vulnerabilities of the locale and plan for and around these.

Throughout history we have reaffirmed our commitment to this principle -- e.g., the Posse Comitatus Act in 1878. Our federal government is ill-suited at best to minister to the needs of a town, let alone a community, family or individual. How is it rational to expect the federal government to be better at identifying the needy, the elderly, infirm or simply intractable in a community?

It seems that many voices critical of the federal government's response have mentally written off one of the fundamental strengths of U.S. governance -- the idea that primary responsibility for people's well-being falls first to the individual, and from there flows through the family and community to local and state governments. It is only after passing through these channels that the federal government is, or should be, implicated.

When we invoke the federal government as the initial responder, we effectively adopt a European model. We must resist this path, as it is inherently less effective. For a contrasting example, remember the European heat wave in August 2003 -- 15,000 deaths in France alone!

Our news sources have again shot their credibility in the foot with their coverage of this event. First, let's put the New Orleans coverage in perspective. There is great human suffering, and a great need for compassion and aid, and we must and will respond. People are responding with support at every level of need, and the feds have authorized amounts of more than $63,000 per Katrina victim in assistance.

That said, it is important to remember that fewer than 400 have been reported dead. This event ranks around 25th in U.S. history for fatalities caused by a natural disaster. Predictably, however, the ubiquitous and overblown media reports are shamelessly manipulating our perception of this tragedy -- presumably so that we all buy tickets for the train of manufactured outrage.

If the goal of our media has been to report and inform, it has failed. Mainstream media is well known to favor governmental control and the nanny state. The industry is also no fan of the current administration. If the media is able to blow public perception of the suffering in Louisiana into biblical proportions, it gets a twofer: "Obviously, the federal government should have stepped in sooner/more extensively/ ... and obviously this particular administration failed."

Let's look at reality: First, before the hurricane, the governor of Louisiana had to be begged by President Bush to make the evacuation mandatory. Complaints about the elderly and infirm not getting assistance in evacuation? The Louisiana emergency plan states that in an emergency, public transportation, including school buses, can be appropriated for evacuation purposes. Yet we see pictures of parking lots full of school buses that were never used, still sitting empty in their lots, flooded. Complaints that no aid was turning up? Red Cross supply vehicles were turned back on their way to the Superdome, because the governor didn't want the dome to be a magnet for more refugees seeking help. The level of suffering has primarily been a function of local government failing in its own duties and frantically trying to externalize the blame.

What we learn from Katrina is that local areas must have functional disaster plans tailored to their individual vulnerabilities, and decision makers must be leaders enough to execute them.

An open letter to Cindy Sheehan from the proud father of a U.S. Marine

Ms. Sheehan:

By your actions, it is clear that you missed an important aspect of Civics 101: With rights come responsibilities. You certainly have the right to voice your opinion against the war in Iraq and the President�s policies.

You even have the right to camp outside the President�s home in Crawford and demand he meet with you. Your status as a mother who has lost a child in the war also gives your words and actions credibility, and a larger audience than otherwise would be the case.

Now that your supporters have given you a broad forum from which to be heard, making you a national figure, it�s time you considered your responsibilities to all of us. I have a daughter deployed to Fallujah and I have a serious concern with how your irresponsible and short sighted actions might impact on her. She is, after all, a volunteer, like your son, and she is going in harm�s way because she believes it is her responsibility to protect your rights and freedoms.

Well-meaning people like you always seem to forget the law of unintended consequences and in your vanity and arrogant self-righteousness, you never bother to think through what it is you are trying to do versus what you may actually accomplish. I am here to inform you, Ma�am, that you will not change the policy of our government by sitting outside Crawford and making a spectacle of yourself in the name of your rights to free speech. What you will do is provide more propaganda for our enemies and cost the lives of even more brave and selfless American warriors. How long do you think it will be before you become a star on Al Jazeera?

For all I know, it may have already happened. One thing is certain, though, and that is that your actions and words will further embolden a ruthless and evil enemy and more American blood will be shed and some of it will be on your hands. I pray that my daughter will not be one of them. If she is, then I will hold you and those like you partly responsible.

Yes, my daughter�s fate will depend mostly on her own courageous decision to serve, but only the most naive among us can deny the impact our own words and actions here in America have in a world grown smaller by the revolution in communications technology.

I am sure you believe that you are serving some great cause by putting our servicemen and women in more danger and that you can, by your irresponsible exercise of free speech, help end a policy you disagree with. Your emotion may be compelling, but the reality is that you will not set in motion any process that will change or undo what has been done. The war will go on because to end it now would dishonor the sacrifice of all of our fellow countrymen who have died in the cause of fighting terrorism. Rational Americans will not allow that. Too much is at stake.

Unfortunately, shallow and irrational ones, such as yourself, will continue to put the lives of our sons and daughters in danger by aiding and abetting an enemy who sees propagandizing in the mass media as its main weapon in a war it could otherwise not win standing on its own wretched and evil justification of radical Islam, or by force of arms.

You, Ma�am, have joined forces with an evil you neither understand nor apparently have tried to comprehend. You direct your anger toward our country while the enemy plots to kill and maim the innocent. You make a mockery of responsible free speech while thousands of young men and women fight desperately to preserve your safety.

Instead of honoring your son�s sacrifice, you are inspired to comfort an evil enemy.

You clearly do not understand the challenge we face as a nation and have not tried to put it in historical perspective. It is a sad fact, that it is those of your thinking that have led us to where we are today. Decades of appeasement to these haters of everything we hold dear has cost thousands of American lives from Beirut to New York and in dozens of other forgotten places. Remember Lockerbie? The Achille Lauro? The USS Cole?

We as a people were dragged into this war, much like Dec. 7, 1941, and we must fight and win wherever the enemy hides and against whomever would support him. Make no mistake about Iraq. It is both a legitimate and crucial campaign in this much larger, global war of radical Islam�s making. These people hate us for who we are, not what we have done. We did not bring this on ourselves, as many would have us believe, by our policies and actions abroad. We brought this on ourselves in 1775 when the Founding Fathers embarked on a course of freedom, tolerance, and liberal democratic and social ideals.

These haters of all we hold dear strive to destroy forever a government �of the people, by the people, and for the people� that Abraham Lincoln hoped would never �perish from the earth.� They would replace it with an oppressive world theocracy unlike anything modern history has ever seen for its ruthless disregard for personal freedom and liberty. If more appeasement is your answer for an alternative policy, spare us. We have suffered enough from cowardice and inaction.

A historical analogy screams to be let out here. It is one of two men, both named Chamberlain. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a school teacher turned soldier in the American Civil War, found himself in the crosshairs of history on a warm July day in 1863 on a small hill in Pennsylvania. Commanding the 20th Maine Regiment on the extreme Union left at Gettysburg, he was in a most perilous position. Should he fail to hold against a strong Confederate attack, the Union could be lost. You see, he was serving in an increasingly unpopular war at home against a resurgent enemy, and for a President fighting for his political life. Colonel Chamberlain, stoic but determined, refused to yield. His small regiment held against an onslaught of Confederate attacks, an action many historians believe turned the tide of the war. He was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The other half of this analogy focuses on Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Great Britain in the years preceding World War II. His story is widely known. Through his policy of appeasement and a lack of moral courage, he handed Adolf Hitler much of Europe.

Which side of history have you chosen, Ma�am?

Your son died in the service of freedom and my daughter will go in harm�s way to protect and preserve it. Honor their sacrifice, Ma�am, by exercising your freedom responsibly.

I will pray with you and I will grieve with you, but I will not stand by silently while you needlessly and arrogantly endanger the life of my daughter and her comrades in arms. Please bless us with your silence and go home.

BRANTLEY SMITH
Tullahoma, Tenn.

La. Governor takes responsibility for hurricane response

Louisiana's governor says she is taking "full responsibility" for the failures and missteps in the immediate response to Hurricane Katrina.

And Kathleen Blanco says, as governor "the buck stops here."

She told lawmakers in a special meeting of the state legislature, that there were failures at every level of government: state, federal and local. And she says leaders must take a careful look at what went wrong and "make sure it never happens again."

On Tuesday, President Bush for the first time took responsibility for federal government mistakes in dealing with the hurricane.

Blanco calls Bush "a friend and partner" in the recovery effort. And she described plans for a rebuilding effort that would span all levels of government but would be funded with federal money.

N.C. �begging� residents to flee Ophelia

15 inches of rain expected in some places; storm surges could reach 11 feet

Hurricane Ophelia lashed the North Carolina coast with high winds and heavy rains Wednesday, beginning an anticipated two-day assault that threatened serious flooding.

With the slow-moving storm expected to produce up to 15 inches of rain in places, Gov. Mike Easley told people to get out of the storm�s path.

�If you have not heeded the warning before, let me be clear right now: Ophelia is a dangerous storm,� the governor said from Raleigh, warning of storm surges that could reach 11 feet.

As it brushed the coast, Ophelia ripped away one barrier island street and chased emergency personnel to shelter. The storm had sustained wind of 85 mph Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The governor urged people to leave flood-prone areas. �We�re asking and begging them to do that because it�s going to be hard to get them out later,� he said. The storm�s center was expected to make landfall Wednesday evening in Carteret County, at the corner of North Carolina�s central coast.

Hurricane warnings covered the entire North Carolina coast from the South Carolina line to Virginia, where a tropical storm warning covered the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.

Ophelia was moving northeastward at just 7 mph after following a looping, meandering course along the coast since it formed off Florida.

Zarqawi declares 'all out war' on Iraqi Shiites

The Al-Qaeda frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, declared "all-out war" against the Shiites in Iraq, in an audiotape attributed to him and posted on the Internet Wednesday.

Zarqawi, who has a 25 million dollar US price on his head, also urged Sunni Arabs to wake from their slumber, telling them "the war to exterminate Sunnis will never end."

Iraq's most wanted man also challenged Iraqi leaders to leave the highly fortified "Green Zone" in Baghdad where the seat of goverment is located, to challenge the mujahedeen or holy warriors.

Earlier, militants loyal to the Jordanian-born Zarqawi claimed they had carried out a wave of suicide bombings in Baghdad to avenge an offensive by US and Iraqi government troops on the northern rebel town of Tal Afar.

The bombings claimed almost 130 lives, making it the bloodiest day of insurgent attacks in the Iraqi capital since the US-led war of March 2003.

"The conquest of revenge for the Sunni people of Tal Afar has started," Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Al-Qaeda Organization in the Land of Two Rivers said in the statement, the authenticity of which could not be verified.

Pakistan 'destroys al-Qaeda base'

The Pakistani army says it has destroyed a major al-Qaeda hideout in its biggest ever operation in the North Waziristan tribal region.

The military says it has arrested more than 20 suspected militants near the Afghan border and seized a Chinese-made spy plane used to track army movements.

The army says the operation, involving helicopter gunships and thousands of troops, is still going on.

Some of the men arrested were described as "important figures".

Some were said to be foreigners, although no more information was given on who they were or where they had come from.

Communications gear

The commander in charge of the operation said sophisticated equipment had been seized, including a small, Chinese-made remote controlled drone, which he said had been used by the militants to spy on army movements and positions in the area.

The drone was shown to the media along with communications equipment which the army said had been used to give instructions to fighters in Afghanistan.

An officer from the Signal Corps said the drone, believed to be the first of its kind found in Pakistan, was equipped with a sophisticated, wide-angle camera.

The BBC's Jannat Jalil in Islamabad says the Pakistani army is heralding its operation as another sign it has al-Qaeda on the run.